31 Weeks

In just two short months, our lives will be changed forever!  I can't believe how fast the time has flown by!  We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family.  I hope they are just as ready as we are for this little joy to enter our lives.  We can't wait!  Well, maybe Craig can wait a little bit longer so he can improve his golf game!  By the way, Happy 35th anniversary mom and dad!!!  It is through your dedication, love, and support that has molded such a strong family tie and I only hope that Craig and I will be just as successful!

This week, our baby measures over 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 pounds and is heading into a growth spurt. He/she can turn their head from side to side, and the arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath the skin. The baby is moving a lot more now, and pretty soon, I may have trouble sleeping because of the baby's kicks and somersaults that will keep me up at night. All this moving is a sign that our baby is active and healthy.

Saturday night was my friend Jenny's birthday party.  She had quite a few people there and of course lots of good food!  It was also nice to see Sarah, Juan, and Pam again.  Come December, I plan to go make homemade icewine at Sarah's house in Pennsylvania with Jenny and Pam.  I can't wait to have a glass (or bottle of that!!).  Even though I will be breastfeeding, there is a such thing as "pump and dump", right? 

Yesterday was my baby shower!!!  It was so nice to see all the friends and family that came to welcome the new addition to our family!  It was a memorable "birthday party" for our little one.  Although we are not finding out the sex, we received so many cute and adorable gender neutral items and gear!  Everyone who hosted the party did such a fantastic job on everything!  It was so much more than I expected!!  We feel so blessed and loved!  I'm going to be busy now in the next couple weeks doing a lot of laundry and organizing!  But somehow I am not going to mind it!  I wonder why?  I can't wait until our baby furniture arrives so we can finally make the nursery complete!

Last night, I woke up at 2AM to use the restroom which has been pretty routine throughout my pregnancy to have to pee sometime in the middle of the night.  However, this time, I could not fall back asleep for the life of me.  By 4:30AM, I was still wide awake and the birds have been chirping nonstop since the rain stopped earlier in the night.  I started to get hungry now, I went downstairs to have a light snack (some cottage cheese and pineapple).  I went back to bed and still could not fall asleep.  I think I finally drifted off around 6AM and by 7AM, the alarm went off for Craig.  I continued to lay in bed but still not falling back asleep.  I finally concluded that my time was up on trying to sleep and decided to get out of bed around 8AM.... I hope this is not going to continue.  It was quite annoying!

Below is a picture of me at 31 weeks.  Baby shower pictures will follow in a separate post since I do not have those available just yet and could not wait any longer to post this already "overdue" update.

31 Weeks

30 Weeks

We have made it to the final 10 weeks now!  That means we are 3/4 of the way there!  I am now on bi-weekly appointments with my doctor.  So far everything is still going well.  We are patiently waiting for our nursery furniture to arrive which should be arriving anytime within the next month.

I had my 6th prenatal visit on Thursday.  Everything checked out fine.  My blood pressure came back at 115/73.  My weight gain was 2 pounds in the last 3 weeks which puts me at a total of 23 pounds for the pregnancy so far.  The length of my uterus measures 30cm and the baby's heartbeat is in the 140s.  My next visit is in two weeks.

Our baby is estimated to be about 15.7 inches long now, and weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds the baby, but that volume will decrease as the baby gets bigger and takes up more room in my uterus. The baby's eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he/she's born, the eyes will be closed for a good part of the day. When the baby does open them, he/she will respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means the baby can only make out objects a few inches from their face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.).  Hopefully, the baby will inherit Craig's vision!

Saturday, Craig and I attended Ella's 2nd birthday party.  Ella is Gina and Dave's daughter.  She is so adorable!  According to Gina, she was so excited to see me (which she calls me Aunt Sandy) when they were heading over to my parent's house to drop off baby furniture earlier in the week.  Of course, she played the typical shy 2 year old until she warmed up again to me and Craig.  She is such a doll!  Later that night, Craig and I went to see the movie, The Clash of the Titans and now Craig gets the idea that he is a demi-God (half man and half God)...fantastic! 

I had brunch with Victoria yesterday at the Wild Orchid in Annapolis which is a fantastic place to eat.  We then headed to Eileen's baby shower.  The baby shower definitely got me warmed up for my own shower!  Seeing all that cute baby stuff was so exciting!  Eileen is now 33 weeks.

Last night, Craig and I enjoyed sushi at Red Parrot (don't worry, mine was not the raw fish!).  It's been awhile since we ate there, and we are trying to get in as much couple time together as we can before this little one arrives and takes over!

Below are pictures of Victoria, Eileen and I at the baby shower as well as a picture of me at 30 weeks.

30 Weeks

29 Weeks

Two and a half more months!  This little one has definitely showed me some acrobatic moves this week!  He/she moves a lot more frequent now and stays awake for longer intervals than I noticed before.  When the baby does a complete roll, it feels like my stomach is being turned inside out.  It is such a strange feeling, but it took my breath away when it happened the first time this week!  I can feel a hard ball whenever the baby has a part of its body up against my abdomen; perhaps it is a bum?  He/she favors kicking/punching my right side it seems and the kicks/punches are getting stronger lately.

Our baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. The muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and the head is growing bigger to make room for his/her developing brain. To meet his/her increasing nutritional demands, I will need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because the bones are soaking up lots of calcium, I have to be sure to drink my milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in our baby's hardening skeleton each day.

I manage to still get out and walk, but I do notice that I have to walk slower and that my feet start to feel the added weight a lot more now.  I have had a couple dayas where my feet have gotten fluid filled and become swollen, but luckily it hasn't been everyday.  Getting out of bed or off the couch are becoming a little more difficult.  I can't get up as fast anymore.  But all in all, I still feel fantastic!  I haven't noticed any waddling yet, but I'll let you know when Craig starts making comments!

We reached 90 degrees this week (about 30 degrees above average) which caused the inside temperature to soar to 86 degrees.  We had the windows open to try to let the breeze in, but it didn't prevent the temperature from soaring.  We finally decided to turn on the air later in the evening.  It's definitely been a hot start to spring this year!  We even tied the record temperature from 1928!

Yesterday (Saturday), I had an elective 3-D/4-D ultrasound taken.  My parents, Craig's parents, John, and of course Craig all attended the show.  As I laid on the bed, the others got to sit on couches and chairs in the same room.  We got to see our baby on a 100" projection screen on the wall which was really cool!!  The baby was said to be breech (which means the head is not down toward my cervix) and the heartbeat was measured at 126 beats/min.  Unfortunately, the baby would not move one of its hands from its face, so we only got to see half the face in all the shots.  The place said I can come back up until my 35th week if my doctor notices that my baby gets into the head down position.  They should be able to get better shots then.  They won't charge anything extra for doing so.  So that's nice to know.  We got to keep a video along with several pictures of the event. 

After the ultrasound, my parents had to hit the road since they were heading down to North Carolina to visit friends.  Craig, his parents, John, and I all went to Home Depot where we ended up buying a glider for our front porch.  We've gone two years without porch furniture, so it will be nice to have something out there finally.  Then we went out to dinner at McCormick's and Schmidt's for dinner (I felt bad my parents coudn't come since they were the ones who gave Craig and I the gift certificate for our 1st anniversary this past year).  We then checked out the Crate and Barrel store next door since we all haven't been in there before and I wanted to complete a set of bowls from our wedding registry.  That store is amazing!  I wanted to buy everything!!

Later Saturday evening, I headed out the door to attend Juan's welcome home party since he was deployed for several months.  I got to meet up with Jenny, Sarah, and Kate which was really nice.  It was hosted at Joe and Rebecca's house (I met Joe through Jenny and Sarah).  Pam (who I got to know from our past ski trips in the Poconos) was there, as well as Dave (whom I've known through the group as well) was there with his wife and two kids (age 2 and 2 months - so adorable!!).  It makes me realize I'm so ready for this baby to enter our lives!! 

Below is a sample of what we got to see of our little one during the ultrasound, some pictures from Saturday, along with a picture of my belly at 29 weeks!

29 Weeks
The cat and dog managed to get in the picture!

Craig and I on the "Love" couch waiting for our ultrasound

Craig and I on our deck out back

Craig's parents and of course our dog Bailey

Top row: Sarah, me, Jenny, Kate, and Pam

Bottom row: Dave's wife with 2 month old daughter Josephine and Kate's 3 year old daughter Valerie

28 Weeks - 3rd Trimester

We are now in our 3rd and final trimester!  It's hard to believe that in less than 3 months, we get to meet our little bundle of joy.  Boy or girl - it doesn't matter, this baby has already stolen our hearts!  I love feeling him/her kick and roll or squirm.  It is a constant reminder that this is all so real and that the baby is doing just fine.

This week, we had Eileen and Mike over for dinner.  I made my famous Mango Curry pork chops with Arkansas green beans and homemade mashed potatoes again since it was a big hit when I made it for Briana and her boyfriend Buddy last time.  Eileen is 31 weeks along now, so she has less than 10 weeks to go!  You can find a picture of us below.

Wednesday night, Craig and I went to Fogo de Chao in Baltimore to join Mel, Dusti, Chuck, and Briana for Briana's little birthday celebration.  It seems like we go there for everybody's birthday celebration.  Why not?  That place rocks!  All you can eat meat, salad, and sides for about $50 a person...and it's not just any plain tasting meat!  They have about 13 different cuts that are flavored so well.  Everyone was amazed at how much I can still put away in my tummy.  My favorite meat there is probably their Lamb Chops and Garlic steak.  You are doing it all wrong if you leave there not feeling full!  I was so full going home, that it was quite uncomfortable.

My mom found the baby blankets that my Aunt, grandmother, and my mom made for when I have a baby.  I was wondering where they have been hiding out!  Unfortunately, my Aunt and grandmother passed away, but I'm glad they were able to make the blankets before they passed.  It's just a great way to keep their memories alive.  I hope they are watching over us during this joyous time because it hurts to think that they wanted to be here for this so badly and they aren't able to hold the baby when he/she arrives.

The results from our doctor's appointment last week are in.  I don't have Gestational Diabetes - YAY!  My number for that test was a 113.  My thyroid level was measuring about 2.2 which was also in the normal range, so I passed that test as well.

By this week, our baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of the head to the heels. He/she can blink their eyes, which now sport lashes. With the eyesight developing, the baby may be able to see the light that filters in through my womb. The baby is also developing billions of neurons in the brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Yesterday, I headed down to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms with a group of friends - Mel, Dusti, Erin, Chuck, Victoria, and my brother Chris, .  It was great to get out into the nice weather and walk around.  The temperature was fantastic - right about 75 degrees.  We metroed over to Metro Center and ate at Gordon Biersch for dinner.  I was quite sore and worn out by the end of the day!

Today was Easter.  Again, the weather was fantastic - right around 75 degrees!  It sure beats the previous cooler/colder Easters we've had.  Craig and I and my brother Chris had breakfast at my parents' house and then we all went to church.  After church, Craig and I headed to Frederick to spend time with Craig's family.  We had the traditional Easter Egg hunt and had plenty of outdoor fun.  Craig's parents had given us a basket full of baby stuff to add to our growing collection of accumulating baby items.  I would have to write a whole new blog just about our hilarious nephew, Caleb, and our adorable niece, Ava.  Caleb is 3 1/2 years old and when we first got to see him today, the first words out of his mouth were "Is my cousin here yet?"  Too cute!! He knows his cousin is in my belly and he kisses him/her from the outside.  He can't wait to find out if it is a girl or boy cousin!

As you can tell, it was a very busy week for us!  Below are several pictures that were taken throughout the week including a picture of me at 28 weeks.

28 Weeks

Eileen and I comparing bellies

Night at Fogo de Chao's for Briana's Birthday

Victoria and I in front of the Washington Monument

Uncle Chris and I

Our little tourist group at the WWII memorial

Uncle Chris and I

The Tidal Basin seems to have flooded the walkway!

Easter morning on my parents' deck

Easter evening at Craig's parents' house